All Things

Christian Nationalism has been something I wanted to dive into for a long time on All Things. But I knew I was ill equipped. I’m so glad to bring this conversation with David Ritchie to you. David is a pastor in Texas, as well the author of the new book, Why Do the Nations Rage?: The Demonic Origin of Nationalism. We talk about the definition of nationalism and Christian nationalism (as opposed to patriotism, for example), what happened on January 6 2021, the unique pitfalls and opportunities for Christians in this sphere of society, how our faith should inform our politics, and many other things. It’s a really helpful conversation.

Why Do the Nations Rage?: The Demonic Origin of Nationalism by David Ritchie

David A. Ritchie’s website

I regularly get questions from Christian women who quietly wonder if we have a skeleton in our closet. Does Christianity want to keep us down? Is the Bible good for women? Does God value women? On this episode of All Things we’re taking a deep dive into all these questions with theologian and author Wendy Alsup. We tackle such questions as what it means to be created a helper (ezer in the original Hebrew, in Genesis 2:20-21), the meaning of Genesis 3:16 (Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.), practical theology for women, forgiveness, and more. It’s such a helpful conversation. You will learn a ton from Wendy!

Wendy Alsup’s website, Practical Theology for Women

Is the Bible Good for Women?: Seeking Clarity and Confidence Through a Jesus-Centered Understanding of Scripture - Wendy Alsup

I Forgive You: Finding Peace and Moving Forward When Life Really Hurts - Wendy Alsup

Is Christianity Bad News for Women? - Jen Oshman

Recently on All Things we’ve been taking a deeper dive into themes that are covered in my new book Cultural Counterfeits. Sex is one of those themes, so I invited Ellen Dykas, who is a counselor, writer, and speaker with Harvest USA, which provides resources that address biblical sexuality for individuals and churches. Ellen helps us think through a number of issues related to sex and sexuality, marriage, the church, and hope and healing for wives who have endured a sexual betrayal. This episode will be especially helpful to any woman engaged in friendships and women’s ministry, as Ellen is a wealth of wisdom and gospel-centered hope for an area of life we are often afraid to wade into.

Ellen Dykas

Harvest USA

Harvest USA Bookstore

Reclaim Your Marriage: Grace for Wives Who Have Been Hurt by Pornography

Hurting Wives: Jesus Is with You

Toxic Relationships: Taking Refuge in Christ (31-Day Devotionals for Life)

You know by now about the horrific and racist mass shooting in Buffalo last weekend. Ten precious and irreplaceable souls were murdered by a young man who describes himself as a white supremacist and stated in a manifesto that white people have been subject to a genocide and are being replaced by people of color. He says the rampage was intended to terrorize all non-white, non-Christian people and get them to leave the country.

While once very fringe, the Great Replacement Theory is becoming more mainstreamed, either explicitly or implicitly. Research shows that the idea is showing up more frequently online, as well as amongst politicians and commentators. On this episode of All Things we take a look at what the theory says, how it’s behind a number of racist mass shootings over the last several years, and where it’s popping up in American political discourse. We also look at data that reveals a growing willingness to “resort to violence in order to save our country” amongst various populations, including white Evangelicals.

This conspiracy theory and other white genocide or replacement conspiracy theories peddle fear to the masses, which garners great ratings and followers, but is poison for our nation. The Christian must examine carefully who they’re listening to, who’s shaping their view of various populations in our country, and if they are motivated by fear, or love and what’s right. The heinous murders in Buffalo are a reminder that we have yet work to do when it comes to racial healing in the United States. How will we respond? Click here if you want to make a donation to Buffalo Community Fridges.

The following resources helped in the formation of this episode:

Competing Visions of America: An Evolving Identity or a Culture Under Attack? Findings from the 2021 American Values Survey

A Fringe Conspiracy Theory, Fostered Online, Is Refashioned by the G.O.P. - NYT

‘The Great Replacement’: The Violent Consequences of Mainstream Extremism - ISD

Scrutiny of Republicans who embrace ‘great replacement theory’ after Buffalo massacre - The Guardian

‘This Was Pure Evil’: The Necessary and Accurate Moral Declaration About the Racially Charged Shooting in Buffalo - Al Mohler

Racist ideology poisons souls - WNG

Dismantling Tucker Carlson’s White-Supremacy Argument - The Atlantic

How the 'replacement' theory went mainstream on the political right - NPR

2022 Buffalo shooting - Wikipedia

White replacement theory a reoccurring trend in mass shootings - wtae.com

Unite the Right rally - Wikipedia

The US will become ‘minority white’ in 2045, Census projects - Brookings

World Relief

Liz Cheney on Twitter

Top Cable News Shows of 2021: Tucker Carlson Tonight Is No. 1 in All Measurements For First Time Ever - AdWeek

The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About the ‘Great Replacement’ Theory - TGC

'Great Replacement Theory,' explained - The Week

Episode 57: The Biden Administration Raised the Refugee Ceiling, But Exactly Who Are Refugees? - All Things

Episode 52: How Should Christians Be Thinking About Immigration Reform? - All Things

Fatherlessness is a significant issue facing American children today. On this episode of All Things I explore the topic from a sociological and spiritual perspective with author and spoken word poet Blair Linne. We talk about her recent book Finding My Father: How the Gospel Heals the Pain of Fatherlessness. Blair shares her own story and journey to both her earthly father and heavenly Father, while at the same time highlighting America’s fatherlessness crisis. She tells us about the value and importance of dads and what children suffer without the presence of a godly father in their lives. Blair leaves us with plenty of gospel hope, though, as she points us over and over to the all-satisfying presence of our Father in heaven.

Blair Linne’s book

Blair Linne’s website

Production note: please forgive the poor sound quality on this episode. We suffered some audio snafus but trust that this conversation is worth listening to nonetheless!

Hunger feels like a problem elsewhere around the globe rather than right here in the United States. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that as many as 30 million adults and 12 million children are living in food-insecure households. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated an already existing problem and now supply chain issues and food shortages threaten to make it worse. On this episode of All Things, I share about a recent trip I took with Convoy of Hope to a couple farms in Tennessee, which are seeking to educate their communities in farming with the goal of increasing America’s backyard farms. You’ll hear my conversation with Agricultural Advocate and Soil Scientist Dr. Jason Streubel, who serves as the Senior Director for Agriculture and Food Security at Convoy of Hope. We talk about the potential for food shortages here in the US and the joy of caring for our creation and communities through backyard farms. If you’d like to support Convoy of Hope, which is doing great work to alleviate hunger around the world and in the US, you can do so here.

More articles and resources :

Convoy of Hope Agriculture Initiative

What is Food Insecurity? - Feeding America

Food Insecurity in the US by the Numbers - NPR

Food prices are going up: Here are items predicted to cost a whole lot more at grocery stores - USA Today

Opinion: The world is on the brink of a food shortage. Here's what the US government and businesses can do to help - CNN

Crunch at Ports May Mean Crisis for American Farms - NY Times

U.S. farm income expected to fall as costs for fertilizer, other production expenses climb sharply - Des Moines Register

Green Door Gourmet - Community Education Farm in Tennessee

The Madison Farm - Community Education Farm in Tennessee

“To avoid walking the way of the cross is to avoid Christ himself,” says Hannah Nation, co-editor of a new book entitled Faith in the Wilderness: Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church. On this episode of All Things, Hannah—who has been involved in ministry in China for over 20 years—shares stories and perspectives from Chinese house church pastors. Most striking for American Christian listeners will be perhaps the Chinese Christian perspective on suffering: following Jesus and growth in him requires it.

Tim Keller, says it well in the book’s foreword, “To get a desperately needed perspective, we must listen to the voices of believers in parts of the world where the opposition is much more pervasive and often takes the form of violence.”

We have so much to learn from our brothers and sisters in China. As one Chinese pastor says, "In this disease-infested world, there is no time to entertain and serve false gods who lead to death. We are called to practice death every day: to follow closely our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us. The mission of a Christian is fearless faith in this deadly world."

May we practice death every day. May we lose our lives to find them. May we learn from our siblings in China.

Today is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter. For Christ followers this is the biggest weekend of our year and the most crucial event of our faith. Jesus claimed to be God and he and his followers say he rose from the dead. If that’s true, every human being should ponder this reality. Have you ever stopped to consider the veracity of that claim? What evidence do we have for the resurrection? On All Things today we are looking at the evidence for the resurrection and how—if it’s true—it changes how we view our own lives, callings, suffering, death, resurrection, and more.

I encourage you to dive in and do more research on your own. This is the crux of our faith! This is worth your time!

Jesus is the only religious leader who is not in His grave - article by Jen Oshman with many more links to books and websites for further research

Abundant Life is on the Other Side of Whatever Death You are Facing - Jen Oshman

Who Were the Women at the Empty Tomb? - Justin Taylor, TGC

Ehrman’s Objections to the Women’s Discovery of the Empty Tomb - William Lane Craig

What Skeptical Scholars Admit about the Resurrection Appearances of Jesus - Christianity Today

What is the right way to live in a culture that is obsessed with our bodies? How can Christian women navigate a context that says our worth is wrapped in how we look or in what we can do? Both outward beauty and physical abilities are fleeting and neither one were meant to bear the weight of our identity. The body is good and made by God. Beauty and abilities are gifts. But these things are not ultimate. They are given to us to steward, that we may know God and make him known.

Listen in as I chat all about bodies, beauty, and abilities with my personal trainer, dear friend, and sister in Christ Molly Favero. Molly helps us think through things like body image, eating disorders, navigating injuries, and the intermingling of good motives with bad. If you wrestle with how to properly steward your body and how to rightly think about beauty and abilities, then you will benefit from this conversation.

This conversation flows from chapter 4 of my new book, Cultural Counterfeits: Confronting 5 Empty Promises of our Age and How We Were made for So Much More.

Lia Thomas was the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA D-I title last week in Atlanta when she took home the victory for the 500-yard freestyle race. Thomas, who is biologically male, began hormone replacement therapy 34 months ago and now swims on the women’s team at the University of Pennsylvania. Predictably, she began setting team and Ivy League records as soon as she switched teams, but her victories have come at the expense of her biologically female teammates and competitors. Passions run high on all sides of this conversation. While many claim that Thomas and all trans athletes should be included on any team with which they identify, others want to see stricter eligibility requirements enforced.

On this episode of All Things we take a look at what the Bible has to say about the creation and goodness of the sexes, why it’s important that we protect women’s-only spaces, and how we might apply the gospel to this current and contentious conversation.

The following articles helped in the creation of this episode:

‘I Am Lia’: The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story - Sports Illustrated

Amid protests, Penn swimmer Lia Thomas becomes first known transgender athlete to win Division I national championship - ESPN

How Title IX Impacts Women’s Equality in College Athletics - Best Colleges

Watching Lia Thomas Win - Honestly With Bari Weiss

Here's a thread on just some of the males who have gone on to win women's sports events - ripx4nutmeg on Twitter

Cultural Counterfeits: Confronting 5 Empty Promises of Our Age and How We Were Made for So Much More - by Jen Oshman - Enter promo code CULTURAL50 to get 50% off for the next 2 weeks.